Multi-purpose wallet with holder for multiple writing instruments

ABSTRACT

A multipurpose wallet formed from flaccid, rectangular outer and inner members and inner members each having a major surface. The major surface of the outer member is selectively fastened, preferably using solvent bonding, to a facing major surface of the inner member. Selecting the areas to be bonded defines internal pouches between the outer and inner members and additionally, a central channel. Elongated retaining clips that removably engage the central channel hold folded material within the wallet. One or more writing instrument holders, each having one or more writing instrument sleeves, are fastened to an outer surface of the outer member. One or more inside pockets may be formed by solvent bonding an additional piece of material to an inside surface of the inner member. The wallet is constructed of durable weather resistant, water resistant vinyl-type material for the outer member and a clear vinyl for the inner member.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority in accordance with 37 C.F.R. §1.19(e)to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/985,020 filed Apr.28, 2014 for MULTI-PURPOSE WALLET WITH HOLDER FOR MULTIPLE WRITINGINSTRUMENTS which is included herein in its entirety by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to pocket organizers. Moreparticularly, the invention relates to pocket wallets used for carryingitems such as credit cards, identification cards, money (in paper form),folded cards such as golf score cards, writing pads and the like with ameans to securely carry multiple writing instruments.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Persons, for example, sports officials, law enforcement officers,military members, medical professionals, and the like, frequently findthemselves in situations where they must quickly either referenceinformation or document information. Often, these tasks occursimultaneously or nearly simultaneously and are frequently done inaustere environments, that is, in environments devoid of writingmaterials, writing instruments, etc. in the cold and rain. While it isnearly impossible because of practical considerations for professionalssuch as the ones cited above to have every reference at their immediatedisposal, it is usually feasible to have their most important and mostoften needed reference material at their fingertips.

It would, therefore, be advantageous to provide a pocket-sizedmulti-purpose wallet capable of holding individualized material (e.g.,reference material), writing instruments, and media, either customprinted or commercially available off-the-shelf) upon which to write. Itwould be further advantageous to provide a multipurpose wallet thatfunctions satisfactorily under any weather conditions by exhibitingdurability enough to withstand both heat and cold and provide resistanceto water, rain and snow. It would be further advantageous for themultipurpose wallet to secure writing instruments and make such writinginstruments readily retrievable and restorable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention there is provided amultipurpose wallet that overcomes shortfalls of all wallets known tothe inventor. The novel wallet of the invention has a unique yet simpledesign that provides the user with quick access to any printed materialcontained within. The design provides water-resistant pouches typicallyintegrated into the front and back covers. Paper documents, cards or thelike may be inserted into these pouches. When the water-resistantpouches are formed from a transparent material, at least the outside ofthe documents or cards may be viewed without removing the documents fromthe water-resistant pouches.

The center portion of the wallet may have a center channel whereby oneor more clips retained by the center channel may be used to retainfolded cards or “leaflets”.

A writing instrument holder may be affixed to one or more of the covers,typically the outside surface of either the front or back cover.

The wallet is constructed at least in part from a durable weatherresistant, water resistant vinyl-type material for the exterior panel ofthe wallet and a clear vinyl for the interior panel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various objects, features, and attendant advantages of the presentinvention will become more fully appreciated as the same becomes betterunderstood when considered in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which like reference characters designate the same orsimilar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

FIGS. 1A and 1B are a top plan and side elevational schematic views,respectively of a simplified laminated wallet structure forming the coreof a wallet in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is an orthogonal view of a wallet of FIG. 1 in flat, fully openorientation showing the wallet layers, interior sides, pockets andretainer clips;

FIG. 3 is a top plan, schematic view of the wallet of FIG. 1 in a fullyopen position showing pouches with reference material retained therein;

FIG. 4 is a top or bottom plan, schematic view of the wallet of FIG. 1shown in a closed position and showing a writing instrument holderaffixed to an outside cover and retaining a pair of writing instruments;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational, schematic view of a retaining clip for usewith the wallet of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational, schematic view of the wallet of FIG. 1partially open; and

FIG. 7 is an example of a folded card suitable for use with the walletin accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention provides a wallet or folio for securing andprotecting reference material, media upon which to write, writinginstruments, etc. The wallet provides protection from the elements byproviding water resistant pouches/pockets into which reference materialto be protected may be placed.

For simplicity, the term wallet is used to describe any wallet, folder,folio, etc. formed from a folded substantially rectangular sheet ofmaterial. A wallet has a generally accepted definition as a containerthat resembles a money wallet (e.g., a billfold). A wallet is usually aflexible folding case fitted for carrying specific items (e.g., tools orfishing flies or lures, etc.) Therefore, the wallet in accordance withthe invention may be of any size in addition of a traditional billfoldsized structure.

An exemplary wallet is produced and sold by Game-AIDE for specific useby referees or judges of athletic endeavors. It will be recognized bythose of skill in the art that the novel wallet of the inventionpotentially has many other applications.

Referring first to FIGS. 1A and 1B, there are shown a top plan and aside elevational view, respectively of a simplified laminated walletstructure forming the core of a wallet in accordance with the invention,generally at reference number 100.

Wallet core 100 is typically formed in two layers; from an outer member102 and an inner member 104 selectively attached thereto. Both outermember 102 and inner member 104 are substantially rectangular and have arespective major axis 106 and a minor axis 108.

Both outer member 102 and inner member 104 are typically formed from aflaccid polymeric material, typically PVC or vinyl. PVC may have someadvantages over vinyl in typical applications of the novel wallet. Forexample, PVC material tends to maintain its flexibility in coldenvironments PVC and also conforms to the body when wallet is carried ina pocket. PVC and vinyl both exhibit good water resistance. It will berecognized that in alternate embodiments of the novel wallet that othermaterials may be utilized to form one or both of outer member 102 orinner member 104. Materials such as leather, nylon or cotton couldtheoretically be used, particularly for outer member 102. However, thewater resistance ability of such materials, even if treated, istypically poorer than the water resistance of either PVC or vinyl.Therefore, the preferred material for the main body panel is PVC orvinyl with PVC performing better overall.

Outer member 102 is typically formed from an opaque material while innermember 104 is typically formed from a transparent material.

Outer member 102 is selectively bonded to inner member 104 in such amanner as to form hollow pockets 118 a, 118 b, best seen in FIG. 2,between outer member 102 and inner liner 104. In addition, no adhesiveis applied at a region adjacent a centerline 110 parallels to minor axis108 proximate a midpoint of major axis 106.

Bonding of outer member 102 and inner lines 104 is typicallyaccomplished with a selectively applied thin adhesive later 112.Adhesive layer 112 is typically formed using solvent cement. Solventcements are known to form molecular bonds between surfaces of the twolayers being joined (e.g., outer member 102 and inner member 104). Suchmolecular bonds create a permanent adhesion without significantlyaltering the physical characteristics of the material, therebymaintaining the flexibility of the materials without compromising theirintegrity. Further, when properly bonded with solvent cement, the formedpouches 118 a, 118 b provide satisfactory water-resistance for mostapplications.

It will be recognized by those of skill in the art that there arenumerous alternatives to solvent bonding outer member 102 to innermember 104. Such alternatives include, but are not considered limited toultrasonically welding, RF bonding, thermal sealing, stitching, joiningwith a non-solvent bonding cement or adhesive, attaching usingfasteners, etc. None of these alternate methods of joining outer member102 to inner member 104 provides the desirable features of molecularbonding using solvent cement. Most alternate methods either impactmaterial flexibility or material integrity that may cause prematurematerial failure, particularly in cold weather.

Surrounding centerline 110 is a center channel 114 formed by bucklinginner member 104 and pulling it inwardly away from outer member 102.Center channel 114 is discussed in more detail hereinbelow.

Referring now also to FIG. 2, there is shown an orthogonal view a wallet200 formed from wallet core 100 of FIGS. 1A and 1B, wallet 200 shown inflat, fully open orientation showing the wallet layers, interiorsurfaces, pouches, pockets and retainer clips.

Pouches or pockets 118 a, 118 b are formed between outer member 102 andinner member 104. As may be clearly seen in FIG. 1A, adhesive 112 isplaced around three sides of outer member 102 to define pouches 118 a,118 b. The lower edge, not specifically identified, is free fromadhesive 112. In FIG. 2, the edge considered the lower edge is shown asthe right-most edge. The adhesive free regions at the lower edges formopenings 122 a, 122 b that allow insertion of a card or other document.

Inside pockets 116 a, 116 b are formed by adhesively affixing anadditional sheet of material 124 a, 124 b to an inside surface of innermember 104, typically only partially covering the surface of innermember 104. Sheet material 124 a, 124 b is substantially the sametransparent material used to form inner member 104.

Access to inside pockets 116 a, 116 b is typically from a top edge 126a, 126 b of material 124 a, 126 b, respectively.

Retainer clips 120, best seen in FIG. 5, have their upper and lowerfolded portions 140 a, 140 b, respectively, retained in upper and lowerregions, not specifically identified, of center channel 114.

Referring now also to FIG. 3, there is shown a top plan, schematic viewof the wallet of FIG. 2 showing pouches or pockets 118 a, 118 b withindicia-bearing cards 128 a, 128 b, respectively retained completely orpartially therein. Indicia-bearing cards 128 a, 128 b form no part ofthe invention and are included to illustrate the typical use of wallet200.

Indicia-bearing card 128 a is shown fully inserted in pouch or pocket118 a. Indicia-bearing card 128 b is shown only partially inserted ininside pouch or pocket 118 b. Indicia-bearing card 128 b is inserted atopening 122 b and moved upwardly in the direction shown by arrow 130.

Referring now also to FIG. 4, there is shown a top or bottom plan,schematic view of the wallet 200 in a closed position and showing awriting instrument holder 132 affixed to an outside surface of outermember 102 and a writing instrument 136 a having a retaining clip 146 aretained completely within instrument retaining region 134 a ofinstrument holder 132. A second writing instrument 136 b has only aretaining clip 146 b retained in instrument retaining region 134 b. Itwill be recognized that other thin, elongated object may be retained inwriting instrument retaining regions 134 a, 134 b in addition to writinginstruments per se.

In alternate embodiments, the size of instrument retaining regions 134a, 134 b may be dissimilar, not shown, to accommodate specific writinginstrument or other items in instrument holder 132.

Writing instrument holder 132 is typically formed by another flat sheetof flexible material adhesively attached, preferably solvent bonded toan outside surface of outer member 102. Writing instruments 136 a, 136 bforming no part of the invention, are disposed in writing instrumentretaining sleeves 134 of writing instrument holder 132. While a singlewriting instrument holder 132 may be disposed on either a front or rearcover of wallet 200, a second writing instrument holder 132 may be addedto the other of front or rear covers, thereby providing instrumentholders 132 on both the front and rear covers of wallet 200.

It will be recognized by those of skill in the art that writinginstrument retaining sleeves 134 may be configured to retain writinginstruments, not shown, having different specific geometries.Consequently, the invention is not considered limited to theconfiguration of writing instrument retaining sleeves134 chosen forpurposes of disclosure. Further, while two writing instrument retainingsleeves 134 are shown, fewer or more writing instrument retainingsleeves 134 may be substituted for the two writing instrument retainingsleeves 134 chosen for purposes of disclosure. Consequently, theinvention is intended to encompass any and all different configurationsand number of instrument retaining sleeves 134.

Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown a side elevational, schematicview of a typical retaining clip 120 for use with the wallet 200.Retaining clip 120 has an elongated central region 138 with bent,hook-like end regions 140 a, 140 b at proximal and distal ends ofcentral region 138, respectively. Bent hook-like regions 140 a, 140 bare configured and adapted for retention within center channel 114.

Retainer clips 120 hold folded items such as cards, leaflets, money orother foldable objects within wallet 200. Retainer clips 120 may readilybe added to or removed from wallet 200 as needed. Typically, wallet 200may be configured without or with one, two, three or more retainer clips120. Removing unneeded retaining clips 120 when they are not neededallows wallet 200 to have the thinnest possible profile at any giventime.

Retainer clips 120 may be formed from a rigid material such as metal,plastic fiberglass or any similar material. Because in certainapplication wallet 200 and its contents may be exposed to moisture,forming retaining clips from a rust resistant material is desirable.

In alternate embodiments, string or elastic type retainers, neithershown, typically looped through the center channel 114 may besubstituted for rigid retainer clips 120.

Referring now also to FIG. 6, there is shown a side elevational,schematic view of the wallet 200 disposed in a partially open state.

In FIG. 6, three retaining clips 120 are installed in center channel114. A folded card 142, best seen in FIG. 7 and forming no part of theinvention is shown retained on one of the three retaining clips 120.

Pouches or pockets 118 a, 118 b and writing instrument holder 132 withwriting instrument retaining sleeves 134 are also clearly shown.

Referring now to FIG. 7, there is shown a representative example offolded card 142. A fold line 144 shows the point where folded card 142is folded.

Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operatingrequirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in theart, the invention is not considered limited to the example chosen forpurposes of disclosure, and covers all changes and modifications whichdo not constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of thisinvention.

Having thus described the invention, what is desired to be protected byLetters Patent is presented in the subsequently appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A folding wallet, comprising: a) a flaccid,substantially rectangular, outer member, said outer member having both amajor axis and a minor axis, and a major surface; b) a flaccid,substantially rectangular inner member said inner member having both amajor axis and a minor axis, said inner member having a major surfaceselectively attached to a major surface of said outer member; c) atleast one pouch formed between said outer member and said inner member;d) a center channel formed between said outer member and said innermember, said center channel being isolated from said at least one pouch;e) at least one retaining clip retained in said central channel, saidretaining clip being configured to retain a folded item within saidwallet.
 2. The folding wallet as recited in claim 1, further comprising:f) at least one inside pocket formed by selectively attaching anadditional piece of flaccid material to an inside surface of said innermember.
 3. The folding wallet as recited in claim 1, further comprising:f) at least one writing instrument holder disposed on an outside surfaceof said outer member, each of said at least one instrument holderscomprising at least one writing instrument retaining sleeve.
 4. Thefolding wallet as recited in claim 1, wherein said elongated retainingclip comprises a bent region at each of a distal end and a proximal endthereof, said bent regions being removably engageable in said centerchannel.
 5. The folding wallet as recited in claim 1, wherein said outermember is formed from a material selected from the group: PVC, vinyl,leather, nylon, and cotton.
 6. The folding wallet as recited in claim 5,wherein selected material is an opaque material.
 7. The folding walletas recited in claim 1, wherein said inner member is formed from amaterial selected from the group: transparent PVC, transparent vinyl,opaque PVC, opaque vinyl, leather, nylon, and cotton.
 8. The foldingwallet as recited in claim 2, wherein said additional piece of flaccidmaterial is selected from the group: transparent PVC, transparent vinyl,opaque PVC, opaque vinyl, leather, nylon, and cotton.
 9. The foldingwallet as recited in claim 8, wherein said additional piece of flaccidmaterial is selectively attached to said major surface of said outermember using one of the fastening techniques selected from the group:solvent bonding, ultrasonically welding, RF bonding, thermal sealing,stitching, joining with a non-solvent bonding cement or adhesive,attaching using fasteners.
 10. The folding wallet as recited in claim 1,wherein said inner member is selectively attached to said major surfaceof said outer member using one of the fastening techniques selected fromthe group: solvent bonding, ultrasonically welding, RF bonding, thermalsealing, stitching, joining with a non-solvent bonding cement oradhesive, attaching using fasteners.